Minor Changes
by Jlbrew28
Summary: Daniel gets downsized, now it's up to Jack to care for and discipline the stubborn little linguist. Warning: spanking.


Summary: Daniel gets downsized, now its up to Jack to care for (and

Stargate: SG-1

"Minor Changes"

Summary: Daniel gets downsized, now it's up to Jack to care for (and  
discipline) the stubborn little linguist.

Author's Note: Takes place in season one, after "Fire and Water".

Warning: Corporal Punishment—in chapters 8 & 11

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, never have and never will.  
I just wrote this story for fun.

Chapter 1: A Minor Accident

The Stargate swooshed to life as the klaxons started  
blaring "OFF-WORLD ACTIVATION! INCOMING TRAVELERS!"

In the gate room, the Iris automatically closed and armed guards stood ready in  
case it was an attack.

"Do we have a signal?" General George Hammond asked as he entered  
the Gate's control room.

"Yes, Sir," Sergeant Walter Davis answered. "It's SG-1, Sir."

The bald general looked puzzled at that. "They weren't scheduled  
to be back for at least a day," he said, concerned. "I wonder what's  
happened. Have Doctor Frasier report to the Gate room immediately."

"Yes, Sir," Walter acknowledged, as the general turned and headed  
down into the gate room itself.

He was joined a few minutes later by Cheyenne Mountain's Chief  
Medical Officer, Dr. Janet Frasier. "I understand SG-1 is coming back  
a bit earlier than expected, Sir," she greeted him, frowning.

Hammond nodded, also looking concerned. "That's right, Doctor,"  
he said. "Though, I can't even begin to imagine what could have  
happened this time."

"Let's hope it's not Daniel," Frasier said, grimacing. "I  
don't think I can go through that again."

She was referring to the recent mission SG-1 went on that led all of them to believe that  
Doctor Daniel Jackson, the team's civilian linguist, was dead due to  
the brain washing of a mysterious alien named Nem who only wanted Jackson's  
knowledge of his dead mate. It had been a rough couple of days for  
everyone at the SGC, especially Daniel's teammates, until they  
figured out that he was indeed still alive and went to get him.

"From your mouth to God's ears," Hammond said, hopefully. He'd  
been just as upset as everyone else when he'd thought Daniel was  
dead. He certainly didn't think SG-1 could handle anything else like  
that. He knew he certainly couldn't.

Just then, three members of SG-1 emerged from the Gate's event  
horizon with a little blonde haired boy. Colonel Jack O'Neill, the  
team's commanding officer; Captain Samantha Carter, the team's  
scientist; and Teal'c, the Jaffa warrior who acted as the team's main  
muscle, were all present and accounted for.

Doctor Daniel Jackson; however, was not.

In his place was a blonde, blue-eyed little boy who  
appeared to be about four or five years old wearing nothing but a  
large black t-shirt that was too sizes too big. Upon coming through  
the gate, O'Neill sat the child down on his own two feet.

"Colonel," Hammond spoke, addressing O'Neill, "what's going on?  
Where is Dr. Jackson, and who is this child?"

"I believe I can answer that, Sir," the child spoke up. "I'M  
Doctor Daniel Jackson, and I'm NOT a child. I'm just shrunk." The  
little boy had a determined look on his face and stubborn set to his  
jaw that both Hammond and Frasier recognized instantly.

"We've have a bit of a MINOR accident, Sir," O'Neill said,  
smirking, "as you can see."

Hammond sighed. "All of you report to the infirmary  
immediately," he ordered. "I'll expect all of you to report to the  
debriefing room in approximately one hour. I have a feeling I'm just  
going to love hearing this."

"We'll be there, Sir," O'Neill said. He then reached down and scooped the miniature Dr. Jackson into his arms, and with the rest of his team and Dr. Frasier following close behind  
headed for the infirmary.

Chapter 2: Explanations and Concerns

As ordered, an hour later found all four members of SG-1 in the  
debriefing room with General Hammond and Dr. Frasier. Any one observing  
would have believed it to be a regular post-mission debriefing, if you  
didn't take into account the small blonde boy wearing a pair of  
overalls (that one of the infirmary nurses who has children had in her  
car) and socks. He was also sitting on a couple of rather thick books so  
that he could be at eye level with all those sitting around him.

"Okay," General Hammond began, "now explain to me exactly how Dr.  
Jackson became..."

"Shrunk," Daniel interrupted him. He seemed determined to make that  
point very clear. He WASN'T younger, he was just SMALLER.

"Yes," Hammond said, nodding his head at the little linguist, "explain  
how he ended up short."

"Well, Sir," Jack started off the explanation, "we arrived on PX-  
Whatever okay. There were a lot of trees and not a hll of a lot else. I  
sent Teal'c to scout out the area and he reported back having found a  
trail. Since there didn't seem to be anything nearby, we decided to  
follow it and see where it ended. When we got to the end, we found what  
just looked like a bunch of rocks to me, but Daniel..." He looked  
towards the downsized archeologist to continue from there.

"Right," Daniel said, his face serious (which looked weird coming from  
a child); "well it was obvious to me that these stones and the stones  
at Stonehenge in England were of similar design. To date, no one has  
ever been able to exactly determine or find any evidence of the  
existence of the culture that created Stonehenge. If it could be proved  
that whoever had built the structure on PX-584 was also responsible for  
Stonehenge it would be the archeological find of the century...scratch  
that…the millennium! I HAD to go check it out."

Again, there was this stubborn set to his little jaw that seemed to  
dare anyone to contradict him on any of the points he'd just made. No  
one did, of course, as they were all still trying to wrap their brains  
around the fact that a very thorough "lecture" had just poured out of  
the mouth of a child...uh, short person.

"What happened next?" Hammond asked, curious.

"Well, Sir," Sam said, taking up the explanation, "there didn't APPEAR  
to be anything dangerous about the stones, so Daniel made his way to  
the center slab while the rest of us stayed back to keep an eye out for  
any trouble that may have come from around the stones. The center slab  
had some writing on it, as well as a large crystal embedded into the  
center of it. Daniel was examining it and when he reached to touch the  
crystal there was this...well...bright light. We were all blinded by it  
and when it cleared Daniel was...uh...shrunk." She shrugged sheepishly,  
as if she didn't know how else to describe what happened.

"Once assured that he was otherwise unharmed," Teal'c spoke up for the first, "O'Neill felt that it was best to return through the Stargate."

"There weren't any warnings whatsoever around or on this slab?" Hammond  
asked, looking at their "shrunken" archeologist.

"Well, there may have been," Daniel admitted, hesitantly. "There was  
writing on the slab, but I didn't really pay that much attention to it  
as I was more curious about the crystal in the center. It appeared to  
be like chrysamite, which was a stone of protection, but I can't be one  
hundred percent certain."

"I see," Hammond said, the disapproval at the young archeologist's  
actions apparent in his voice. "Dr. Frasier, do you have anything to  
say on this matter?"

"Well," Frasier spoke up, "most of my tests are still being run on the  
blood samples I collected from each of them, but my primary examination  
showed that whatever "shrunk" Dr. Jackson had no affect whatsoever on  
the other three. As for Dr. Jackson, he is perfectly healthy...aside  
from being...uh...shrunk that is."

Hammond nodded, understanding. "Does anyone have any theories about how  
this happened?" he asked, next.

"Well, whatever it was it obviously has to do with those stones,"  
Daniel spoke up immediately, "so I suggest that we go back there and  
find out."

"I don't think so!" Jack said, before Hammond could even open his mouth  
to reply. "We aren't going back there until after we send a probe  
through! Do you really want to get even younger!?"

Daniel rolled his eyes at the colonel. "You're just being paranoid,  
Jack," he told him, "and I told you. I'm NOT younger, I'm just shrunk!"

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Hammond interrupted  
him. "Gentlemen, that's enough," he said, firmly. "We have enough  
problems without bickering amongst ourselves. I'm afraid I have to  
agree with the colonel, Daniel, as I'm not sure it would be safe to send you  
back there in your current...uh...shrunken state. We'll send a probe  
through, and then maybe SG-2 can accompany Captain Carter and Teal'c so  
that they can act as guides and study the situation more thoroughly."

Daniel looked like he was going to protest this, but then just  
sighed. "Very well," he said, sullenly. "If you don't need me anymore,  
General, I DO have work I need to be doing in my office."

Hammond nodded. "Go ahead, son," he said, giving him a supportive nod.

Daniel hopped down and made his way to the door. He glared up at the  
door handle, as he was just a head shorter than it. "This sucks," they  
heard him mumble, as he stretched up on his toes to open it.

"Want some help?" Jack asked him, trying not to grin.

Daniel turned and glare at him. "No, Jack," he said, stubbornly, "I  
don't." He managed to open the door and headed out of it. They all  
winced when he slammed it behind him.

"Little brat," Jack huffed, slightly annoyed. Getting attitude from an  
adult Daniel was one thing, but getting it from the "shrunken" version  
was quite another.

Hammond nodded, agreeing with him on that one. "Doctor," he said,  
addressing Frasier, "will you please give us your opinion on the  
situation?"

Frasier nodded. "Yes, Sir," she said. "To put it bluntly, I am a little  
concerned. Dr. Jackson is being very stubborn, which I know isn't  
something new, but as he is currently the size and physical age of a  
five year old it may be a problem. He isn't going to admit that he's going  
to need help with certain things, won't be able to do other things he's  
normally used to doing, and I have a feeling that is going to make him  
very...well…cranky!"

"That's putting it mildly, doc," Jack told her, sarcastically. "What  
should we do, though? Do we treat him any differently?"

"In some things, no," Frasier answered him, "but in other things, yes.  
Until we can figure out what caused this, we don't know if there IS a  
way to reverse it or not. Daniel needs to accept what's happened and learn  
to deal with it. It's not going to be easy for him, but he's going to  
have to accept that he isn't just shrunk. He may have the mental capacity  
of an adult, but from everything I've observed about him so far he has  
the physical form and emotions of a five year old child. I think the  
best way to do things is play them by ear. I assume you're going to be  
looking after him, Colonel?"

Jack nodded. "Yep," he said. "He was already staying with me, anyway. I  
don't see why that has to change. I'll look after the little  
guy...whether he wants me to or not." He could be just as stubborn as  
their little blonde linguist, more so even.

Frasier nodded. "I'd wager not," she said, grinning, "and that is what  
I mean. Try not to treat him any differently unless he gives you a  
reason to."

"So," Jack asked, smirking, "I SHOULD take him out for a drink later,  
huh?"

Frasier rolled her eyes at him. "Of course not," she said, "but don't  
treat him like a kid unless he starts acting like one. When he does,  
treat him accordingly, but otherwise give him some space and don't try  
to do EVERYTHING for him. In time, I have the feeling the demands of  
his body and emotions will force him to accept the situation, but until  
that happens just grit your teeth and bare it."

Jack nodded. "Or I could just tan his behind if he decides to throw a  
tantrum," he said, grinning.

Frasier grinned, also. "That, too," she said, simply. The others grinned  
at this as well, though they knew the colonel was only half joking about it.

"Very well," Hammond said. "For now, we need to get started on trying to  
figure this problem out. SG-1 is on stand down, at least Colonel  
O'Neill and Doctor Jackson are, so try and catch up on any work you  
have to do around here. Dismissed." That being said, the general stood  
up and headed for his office to report the situation to the president.

"Why don't the two of you go get some chow," Jack told Sam and Teal'c.

"What about you, Sir?" Sam asked, curious.

"I've got a "shrunken" archeologist to round up first," he replied,  
smirking. "We'll meet you there."

With that, he headed towards the lifts that would take him to Daniel's office, knowing he was going to have a battle on his hands. Getting the adult Daniel to eat when he was  
in the middle of translating some stuff was like pulling teeth, getting  
the "shrunken" version to eat was going to be even more difficult, he  
was sure.

Oh, well, he'd never backed down from a challenge yet.

He wasn't about to start now.

Chapter 3: A Battle of Wills

To say Doctor Daniel Jackson was a bit pissed off would be an  
understatement. It was bad enough he'd been "shrunk", and bad enough that  
he'd been forced to wear these clothes, but when his fellow  
colleagues at the SGC started patting him on the head and telling him  
how cute he was…THAT is where he absolutely drew the line on the  
indignity of this entire situation!

Okay, he admitted that slamming the door to the conference room had  
been a "tad" childish, but the fact that he wasn't being allowed to  
go back to that planet infuriated him. As he made his way to his  
office, intent on proving that absolutely NOTHING had changed except  
his height, he'd come upon Walter Davis.

"Hello, Dr. Jackson," Walter said, grinning down at him. "The  
debriefing over already?"

Daniel glared up at the tech, who could usually be found in the  
Gate's control room operating the computer that ran the thing. "It is  
for me, Walter," he huffed, aggravated. "I'm sure Jack and the others  
are still in there talking about me."

Walter just grinned. "I'm sure they're just trying to figure out how  
to make you...big again," he said, hesitantly. He'd heard from one of  
the nurses in the infirmary that under no circumstances were you to  
refer to Dr. Jackson as a child. Not, at least, if you valued having  
shins.

"I guess," Daniel said, though he still didn't like that they were  
discussing things without him. "I've got some work to do, Walter, so  
I'd best get to my office."

"Of course, Dr. Jackson," Walter said, smiling. "See you around." He  
then patted him on the head and continued walking away. "He really is  
a cute kid," he muttered to himself, or so he thought.

Daniel glared at the man's retreating back. Fuming, he turned and  
headed for the lifts to take him to his office. Walter wasn't the  
only one, however. At least three other people had done the same  
thing!

I keep telling them, I'm NOT a kid!

Going into his office, he slammed the door shut behind him and made  
his way over to his desk. Climbing into his large, comfy chair he  
realized he might have a bit of a problem. He had two choices, he  
could either prop up on his knees so that he could see his computer  
monitor or he could get a couple of books to sit on.

He really didn't want to get the books (that was just too humiliating) but he didn't  
think he would like sitting on his knees for several hours. Comfort  
won out over embarrassment; after all, it wasn't like anyone would  
really see him. Right?

Sighing, he hopped down and headed over to his bookcase. Looking up  
at it, he realized he was probably going to need to get a step  
ladder. Of course, he was SHRUNK enough that he could just climb up  
the thing and get the books he needed, but he could just imagine what  
Jack's reaction to that would be.

Since when do I care what Jack thinks

Decision made, he hoisted himself up and started climbing. He had  
made it to the second to the top shelf and was preparing to toss down  
the two thickest reference books when Jack decided to barge in.

"Daniel!" the Air Force colonel's sharp voice exclaimed. "What the  
HLL do you think you're doing!?"

Jack's shout caused Daniel to jump, causing him to teeter backwards  
and fall from the bookcase. He landed on his butt, hard. Jack was  
standing over him in a couple of large strides and glared down at him.

"Thanks a lot, Jack," he huffed, getting up and rubbing his stinging  
posterior. "That's just what I needed!"

"You could have hurt yourself!" Jack said, sternly.

Daniel rolled his eyes. Ever since they'd all believed he'd died on  
Nem's planet, Jack had been even more uptight and overprotective than  
he usually was. Normally, Daniel thought it kinda nice that the man  
valued his friendship that much, but he also thought it was time to  
get over it and move on. He certainly didn't appreciate it at this  
particular moment.

"Did you have a reason for barging in?" he asked him,  
sarcastically. "Or did you just come to glare at me?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "We were all going to get some lunch," he told  
him, "and I came to get you."

Daniel sighed. He WASN'T about to go to the mess hall where everyone  
would stare at him and make 'cute' comments. "I haven't even started  
on my work yet, Jack," he told him. "You all go ahead and eat without  
me. I'll grab something a little bit later." Bending down, he picked  
up the two books he'd managed to get down before his abrupt landing  
and started back towards his desk with them.

"Daniel," Jack said, "I know for a fact the only thing you had for  
breakfast this morning was a cup of coffee. You need to eat."

Daniel pointedly ignored that. He put the two books in his chair and  
climbed back up. Getting comfortable, or as comfortable as he could,  
he twisted back around to find Jack perched on the edge of his desk  
fiddling with one of his artifacts.

"Put that down," he told him, ALMOST pouting, "and I told you I have work to do. I'll eat later."

Jack shook his head. "Work can wait," he said, firmly. "You ARE going  
to go get something to eat. Right now!" Going around the desk, he  
turned his chair around and quite easily picked him up.

"Put me down, Jack!" Daniel yelled at him. "I said I DON'T want to  
go!"

"And I said you're going," Jack said, making his way towards the  
door. He wasn't about to get into a battle of wills with the kid,  
especially knowing he'd probably lose. He decided the more assertive  
approach was necessary and so that is what he used.

"Fine," Daniel huffed, seeing that the man wasn't going to be  
reasonable. "At least let me walk."

Jack stopped, and thought about that. "All right," he said, "but only  
if you stay right beside me the entire time. I'm not about to let you  
double back on me."

"Yeesh, Jack!" Daniel said, as he was sat back on his on two feet  
again. "Do I look like some kid to you!?"

Jack looked down at him, giving him a very pointed look.

"Don't even think about answering that," Daniel told him, crossing  
his arms over his chest and glaring up at him.

Jack just smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, Danny," he said,  
chuckling. "Now, let's go get some chow. I'm starving." Together,  
though one certainly more willing than the other, they made their way  
to lifts. Daniel sighed.

It's going to be a long day

Chapter 4: Playing It By Ear

Lunch actually turned out pretty well. Sure, more than a few people  
turned to stare at him...for about two seconds. A death glare from  
Jack had them turning around VERY quickly, which helped things out  
considerably. Sam and Teal'c treated him the same as always, and Jack  
didn't hover TOO much.

"Well," Daniel said, after he'd eaten all that his SHRUNKEN stomach  
would allow him to, "I still have those translations to finish so I  
guess I'd better get back to my office."

"Actually," Jack said, "we've been given a couple of day's downtime,  
so I thought we'd just go ahead and head out."

Daniel looked confused. "We have?" he asked, looking a Sam and  
Teal'c. "Why?"

"Well, Daniel," Sam told him, hesitantly, "the General felt that you  
might need some time to...adjust...and all. So, while Teal'c and I  
get started on trying to figure out what...uh...shrunk you...you and  
the colonel can just relax for a couple of days."

"I don't want to relax," Daniel said, stubbornly, "I want to work on  
my translations, and then I want to go back to that planet and  
translate what's on that stone slab!"

Jack sighed. He had known Daniel wouldn't take the news of their down  
time well, but he also knew he'd be more comfortable and more relaxed  
away from all the eyes that seemed to just stare at him.

"The general already said you couldn't go back there until it was  
proven safe enough, Danny," he reminded his miniature best  
friend, "besides, I thought after we left here we could run by the  
mall and get you some clothes."

"Clothes?" Daniel asked, scrunching up his eyebrows in confusion. "I  
don't need clothes, Jack."

"Really?" Jack asked him, raising an eyebrow. "So...you plan on  
wearing those overalls all the time? Huh?"

Daniel glared at him. "No," he said, sullenly, "but I don't want to  
spend perfectly good money on clothes I'm only going to be wearing  
for a short time, either."

"Well then," Jack told him, smirking, "you're in luck 'cuz you AREN'T  
going to be spending perfectly good money on clothes you're only  
going to be wearing for a short time. I am." He then picked up his  
tray and Daniel's to carry to the trash cans. Daniel followed him.

"What do you mean you are?" he asked. "I don't want you spending any  
money on me, Jack."

Jack sighed. "You need clothes, Daniel," he told him, firmly, "and  
you know it. We won't get but a few outfits, okay? A couple of  
shirts, a pair of slacks, a pair of blue jeans, some socks and  
underwear. That's it." He tossed the trash and then they headed back  
to the table with the others.

Daniel sighed. "All right," he said, grudgingly.

Jack grinned. "Sweet," he said. "How about you go get whatever you  
need out of your office and then meet me at the locker room. Okay?"

Daniel nodded. "Sure," he said, and headed out of the mess hall back  
to his office to pack his briefcase. Just because he wasn't going to  
be on base didn't mean he couldn't finish those translations and he'd  
be dmnd if he let Jack O'Neill stop him.

"What's the plan, Sir?" Sam asked him, as she and Teal'c watched  
Daniel head out of the mess.

Jack shrugged. "We're just gonna have to play it by ear, Carter," he  
told her. "I'll treat him like I always have, unless he gives me a  
reason not to."

Sam nodded, but still looked hesitant.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "everything's going to be all right.  
You and T just work on finding a way to get Danny back to six foot,  
okay?"

"We will endeavor to do so, O'Neill," Teal'c assured him.

Jack nodded and then headed out to go change. Daniel met him at the  
locker room door just as he had finished changing and was coming out.  
He couldn't help but grin at the sight of the five year old  
archeologist lugging around a rather full briefcase.

Good grief, all he's missing is the kitchen sink

"I'm ready to go, Jack," Daniel told him, huffing and puffing as he  
set the overstuffed briefcase down for a moment.

"Ya think?" Jack asked, rolling his eyes. He then reached down and  
picked up the brief case for the little guy.

"Hey," Daniel protested, "I'm more than capable of carrying my own  
briefcase." He crossed his arms over his little chest and glared up  
at his best friend.

"I'd like to get to the mall before next week, Danny," Jack told him,  
bluntly. "I've got it. Let's go." Still glaring, the little linguist  
followed him to the lifts and up to the parking lot. When they reached  
his truck, the little guy wordlessly climbed into the front seat and  
buckled himself in. He then closed the passenger's side door a little harder

than was necessary.

Jack winced. He had a feeling this was going to be one shopping trip  
that he wasn't going to enjoy that much.

Oh well, you only live once. Right?

He climbed into the truck, started 'er up, and pulled out of the  
parking lot headed for the nearest mall.

Chapter 5: Boxers or Briefs?

Their first stop at the mall was to the shoe store, there was no  
doubt about that. After pulling into the parking lot and turning the truck off,  
Jack quickly got out and made his way around to the passenger side. Opening the door, he scooped up Daniel and started making his way towards the entrance.

Daniel did not like this, and told him so. "I CAN walk, Jack," he  
grumbled, sourly.

"Not in sock-feet you can't," Jack told him, grinning. "It's  
only 'til we get you some shoes, Danny, and then I'll let you walk  
your little butt off if you want." That settled the matter as far as  
he was concerned and they headed for the nearest shoe store from the  
entrance.

Walking in, they were immediately assailed by a very pretty, very  
perky, VERY (overly, in Daniel's opinion) cheerful young sales  
girl. "Hello," she greeted them, smiling so widely that you could  
practically see all her teeth, "and how may I help you today?"

Jack grinned, having already prepared himself for that question while  
on the drive over here. He held up one of Daniel's feet for  
display. "Wouldn't you know it," he said, "but my godson went to put  
on his shoes this morning and they fell completely apart. I love this kid, but I  
swear he wears out more shoes faster than his old man can buy 'em!" He  
made a point of ignoring Daniel's scowling face and he hoped the girl  
would, too.

She did, thankfully. "Well now," she said, brightly, "why don't the  
two of you have a seat and I'll pick out a few pairs for the little  
one there to try on. What size, and is there any particular styles he  
would prefer?"

Daniel started to answer her, but Jack quickly spoke before  
him. "Just a simple sneaker will do. Blue, if you have 'em, and  
preferably without shoe strings. As far as size, I'm not quite sure.  
You'd be a better guess at that sort of thing than I am." He  
again held up Daniel's foot for inspection.

The girl pursed her lips. "Hmm," she said, "I think a size nine,  
maybe. I'll bring an eight and a ten, too, just to be certain." With  
that, she scurried (I swear, there's no other word to describe it)  
off to the children's section.

After she was gone, Jack heaved a huge sigh of relief and sat down.  
He sat Daniel down beside him, still ignoring the look the kid was  
giving him.

"Godson?" Daniel asked, questioningly. "What was that about?"

Jack shrugged. "I figured that'd be the easiest way to explain you,"  
he told him. "Most folks know I'm single and don't have a kid, so I  
thought I'd tell them you're my godson. You're dad, which is BIG you by  
the way, had to go out of town for a couple of days and left you with  
me."

"Oh," Daniel said, surprised. It was actually a pretty decent  
argument and a believable one, too. "When did you think of it?"

"Just now on the way over here," Jack admitted. "It was a pretty  
quiet ride, so I had time to think." He looked down at the kid,  
giving him a significant look.

Daniel actually managed to look sheepish. "Sorry about that," he  
mumbled. "I just hate all this."

Jack nodded, patting him on the back. "I know," he said, "and  
everybody's working really hard to figure out how to get you back to  
normal. In the mean time, you and I'll just have to play everything  
by ear. Okay?"

Daniel nodded. "I guess," he said, obviously still not liking the  
idea of having to be a kid.

Just then, the sales girl came back with a pair of blue-n-white Nikes  
that had velcro across the tongue. "How about these?" she asked,  
taking the shoes out of the box for their inspection.

Jack looked the shoes over. They looked fine to him. "Okay, I guess,"  
he told her, "but it's not me that's going to be wearing them. Danny?"  
He looked at the little archeologist expectantly.

Jack's attention may have been on the shoes themselves, but Daniel's eyes  
had automatically gone to the price tag. He couldn't believe how much  
this store wanted for a pair of KIDS shoes. He had every intention of  
paying Jack back for whatever he spent on him, but he couldn't let  
the man spend that kind of money! That was just plain ridiculous.

"Uh," he said, trying to remember how a five year old would act if  
they didn't like shoes, "I don't like 'em! I want something else!" He  
crossed his arms and pretended (okay, maybe not pretend all that  
much) to pout.

Jack looked confused. "What's wrong with 'em?" he asked, puzzled.

Daniel just scowled at him. "I said I don't like 'em," he said,  
stubbornly. "Take 'em back now!" This he directed at the sales girl; and it wasn't all that polite, either.

"Daniel!" Jack said, sternly. "Don't be rude. If you don't like the  
shoes, just say so. Now, apologize." The tone of voice he was using  
was the one he used when they were on missions. It was his "colonel"  
voice and the kid had better listen to it.

Daniel, who really hadn't meant to sound SO mean, looked at the young  
woman and said, "Sorry, Ma'am. Could you please bring something else?"

The sales girl smiled. "Of course I can, honey," she said, replacing  
the shoes in their box and going back for another pair.

"What was that about?" Jack asked the little linguist, scowling. "You  
keep saying you're not a kid, Daniel, but I gotta tell you that  
display just now was one hundred percent spoiled brat!"

Daniel scowled back at him. "I'm NOT a kid, Jack," he said,  
stubbornly. "I just didn't like the shoes."

"All right," Jack said, "but you'd better be more polite or so help  
me..." He left the threat unfinished. He'd let the kid squirm, trying  
to figure out what "or so help me..." meant. It had always worked  
well with Charlie, after all; of course his son hadn't been a  
downsized thirty year old archeologist, either.

Face it, O'Neill; you're in unfamiliar territory here. Tread  
carefully

The girl returned with a pair of Reeboks, this time. Like the  
Nikes, they were blue-n-white and also had the velcro across the top  
of 'em. Again, Daniel checked out the price and found it too high.

However, he wanted to get out of there and he certainly didn't want  
Jack treating him any more like a child than he already was, so he  
said, "Those are fine, Uncle Jack. I like them."

Jack raised an eyebrow at the "uncle" part, but otherwise  
nodded. "All right, let's see if they fit," he said, reaching for the  
right shoe and undoing the velcro across the top. Luckily for all  
three of them, it fit and so did the other one.

"You mind if he wears 'em out of the store?" Jack asked the sales  
girl, as she rang up the purchase at the register.

"Of course not," she said, taking his credit card. She swiped it,

and then handed it back to him. "You two have a nice day now and come again."

Daniel rolled his eyes, as they made their way out of the store.

Hll will freeze over first, lady

Next, they headed to the Gap Kids. Here, Jack's carefully enforced  
Air Force patience was frayed nearly to the breaking point.

Everything he held up for the kid's inspection he found something to  
complain about. After sorting through every rack in the boys'  
section and still having found nothing Daniel either liked or  
approved of, he decided it was time to put his foot down.

"Daniel," he said, his voice tight with control, "you have about five  
seconds to pick SOMETHING or I'm going to start picking for you. And  
you know exactly what I'd pick for you..." He smiled wickedly, eyeing  
a black t-shirt with a smiling Bart Simpson on the front of it.

Daniel got the message, and decided it was time to stop hemming and  
hawing. He picked out a couple of solid color t-shirts, a couple of  
polo shirts, two pairs of slacks, and one pair of blue jeans.  
Nightwear wasn't needed, as he could just sleep in one of his own BIG  
shirts.

Jack made sure the sizes matched, but otherwise approved of the kid's  
choices. "That just leaves one final question," he told Daniel,  
grinning.

"What's that?" Daniel asked, puzzled at what he'd forgotten.

"Boxers or Briefs?" Jack asked, grinning wickedly. He held up a package of each for the kid to pick his poison.

Daniel blushed from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes, he  
was sure. "You're evil, Jack," he muttered, snatching the briefs out  
of his hand.

Jack just chuckled. "I know," he said, ruffling the little  
archeologists' hair. "Now, let's go pay for all this. We'll get  
something to eat and then head home."

It was one very exhausted Jack O'Neill who pulled his truck into  
the drive way of his house a couple of hours later. Naturally, the events  
of the day had finally caught up to Daniel and the poor little guy  
fell asleep on the way home. Getting the kid out of the truck wasn't  
a problem, nor was getting him upstairs.

"I guess a shower will have to wait 'til tomorrow, Danny," he  
whispered to the sleeping kid as he took off the overalls, t-shirt,  
and newly purchased shoes. Quickly changing him into one of his own  
regular shirts, which swallowed him whole now, he tucked him into  
bed.

As he turned out the light, he couldn't help but grin at the sight of  
the tiny kid in the overly large bed.

"Night, Danny," he whispered, turning out the light. "Don't let the  
bed bugs bite." Closing the door partially, he then headed back down  
to the truck to get the bags and things out.

After getting himself ready for bed (after deciding to wait and shower tomorrow, as well) he  
laid down and prepared himself for tomorrow. Maybe Danny's attitude  
would improve after a good night's sleep. Jack snorted at that.

Yeah, and the general's hair will grow back overnight

Chapter 6: The Nightmare

"Danyel!" Sha're called to him. "Come to me, my Danyel!"

"I'm coming, Sha're," Daniel called to her, "I'm coming!" He moved  
through the hazy mist of the dream, his eyes roaming all around  
searching for her.

"I'm here, Danyel," she called again to him, her voice coming from  
right in front of him.

Finally, the mist seemed to part and there she was. She was just as  
he often remembered her in his dreams. Her long dark hair spilled  
over her shoulders and down her back. Her almond-rich skin glistened  
and her deep brown eyes were as beautiful as ever.

"You found me, Danyel," she said, happily wrapping her arms around him. "You found  
me!"

Daniel nodded, unable to speak, as she brought her lips down upon his  
in a breath-taking kiss just as she had done on Abydos right when he  
went to show Jack and Sam the Map room.

She pulled away from him then, a wicked smile on her face. Her eyes  
glowed ominously. Daniel's eye widened in horror as he realized she  
was still possessed by Apophis' queen! Struggling to free himself from  
her grasp, he found that he couldn't get loose. Her gaze then shifted  
from him to her right.

Seemingly against his will, his gaze traveled with her and he gasped  
in shock and dismay. Standing before him were his parents, Melbourne  
and Claire Jackson, looking just as they did before they died when he  
was eight. Sha're's eyes glowed and she gestured at them. To Daniel's  
horror, he watched as a large stone slab came crashing down upon  
them, crushing them.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Jack awoke to the sound of screaming. Jerking up right in bed, he  
immediately knew where the sound was coming from. Bolting out of bed,  
not even bothering to slip the pajama pants he kept beside his bed to  
put on first thing in the morning, he made his way to Daniel's room.  
There he found a struggling, screaming, five year old archeologist in  
the throws of what appeared to be a horrible nightmare.

"Daniel!" he said, going over to the bed and trying to wake the  
little guy up. "Daniel, wake up! You're having a nightmare!" He  
gently shook the little linguist, hoping that would pry him out of  
whatever horrible thing he was reliving.

The little boy bolted up right, his body literally trembling and  
great big tears were rolling down his small cheeks. "S-She crushed  
them," he gasped out, "a-a-and there was nothing I could do!" He  
began sobbing, his body shaking with each and every one.

All of Jack's paternal instincts came back to him in that moment and  
without thinking he scooped the little guy up and held him in his  
arms. Rocking back and forth gently, he began murmuring soothing  
nonsense into his ear. "It's okay, baby," he soothed, "It's okay. It  
was only a dream, Danny. Everything is going to be all right."

The little head flew up then, shaking violently. "It won't ever be  
all right!" he cried, his little fists flaringly angrily. "T-They're  
dead and s-she's possessed! And I-I'm all alone!" He then collapsed  
against Jack's chest, wrapped his little arms around his neck, and  
cried broken-heartedly into his chest hair.

Jack held him even tighter, his own eyes beginning to tear up. "No,  
Danny," he promised, running his hand through the boy's blonde  
hair, "you're not alone. I've got you and I don't ever intend to let  
you go." He continued to rock back and forth, remembering times when  
he'd been home and Charlie had a nightmare. It seemed he hadn't lost  
his touch, either, as Daniel's cries began to lessen and soon the  
little guy was once more sound asleep.

Once he was sure he wouldn't wake up again, Jack gently deposited him  
back into the bed. Instead of getting up and returning to his own  
room, however, he decided he'd spend the rest of the night here with  
him.

Just in case he has another nightmare

At least that's the excuse he'd give to Daniel in the morning when he  
asked what he was still doing there. He settled down on the bed,  
wrapped the blanket around both of them, pulled Daniel closer to him,  
and then laid back and fell asleep. The scent of little boy filled  
his nostrils and he began to dream of another little guy who had once  
been the center of his daddy's world.

Chapter 7: The Tantrum

Daniel awoke with a rather large arm draped across him. For a moment  
he wondered what the hll was going on, but then the events of  
yesterday--and more importantly last night--came back to him and he  
groaned in horror and mortification. He'd had a nightmare about  
Sha're and his parents. Jack had come in to see what was wrong and he  
had actually HELD him! Not only that, he had rocked him and called  
him baby and told him everything would be all right. Just like if he  
really was five years old!

Looking over at the still slumbering Air Force colonel, Daniel  
couldn't help but fill grateful to him. Jack had done a lot for him,  
and he owed him a lot in return, but the sheer embarrassment of  
having bawled like a little kid into the man's chest last night was  
just too much for him!

Getting out of bed, careful not to wake up the slumbering man in it,  
he went to find the bags of clothes they had purchased last night.  
Still disgusted that he actually had to wear LITTLE KID clothes; he made  
his way into the bathroom to take a shower. He had a bit of trouble  
at first, being that he couldn't quite reach the knobs to turn the  
water on, but he sorted that out easily enough by standing (very  
carefully) on the edge of the tub.

After showering, he lifted himself up to the sink and brushed his  
teeth with his toothbrush, which thankfully he already had so there  
was no need to buy one last night. Knowing Jack, he'd have probably  
have bought him something CUTE. Once that was taken care of, he  
slipped on his new shoes and headed for the kitchen to make a pot of  
coffee.

He managed to start the coffee maker all right, but unfortunately  
realized that Jack kept the mugs in one of the cabinets above the  
counter. Sighing, because he was either going to have to go get the  
step-ladder out of the basement or simply climb on top of the counter  
to reach the right cabinet, he chose option B. He managed to climb  
onto the counter okay, and had even gotten the cabinet open. He had  
just grabbed one of the coffee mugs when Jack chose that exact moment  
to enter the room.

"Daniel!" Jack exclaimed, startled at the sight of his miniature best  
friend teetering dangerously on the edge of the sink. "What do you  
think you're doing!?"

Daniel only had a moment to think that those were the exact same  
words he'd used yesterday in his office, when he fell. He once again  
landed rather hard onto his backside on the tiled floor. Luckily,  
though how he managed it he had no idea, he held onto the coffee mug  
so that it didn't shatter into a thousand pieces.

Jack was beside him instantly. Bending down, he put his hands  
underneath his arm pits and lifted him to his feet. "Well?" he asked,  
straightening back up and glaring down at him.

Daniel glared up at the man. "I was trying to get a coffee mug," he  
told him, angrily. He held up the mug so that he could see it.

"Why didn't you get the step-ladder?" Jack asked, crossing his arms  
over his bare chest (he had remembered the pajama bottoms this  
time). "Or, here's a thought, have gotten me up!"

"I'm quite capable of getting a coffee mug on my own, thank you,"  
Daniel told him, rudely.

Jack's nostrils flared, showing that his temper was rising. "What if  
you had fallen before I came in?" he asked. "Or caused something to  
come crashing down on your head!? I may not have been able to get to  
you in time! Daniel, you need to start letting me help you!"

Daniel gripped the coffee mug tighter. "I have three PhD's," he  
informed the man, angrily. "I speak twenty-three different languages  
fluently, I can read and write ancient Egyptian, and I am the one who  
figured out how to open the Stargate. I can get a frickin' cup of  
coffee all on my own!" With each emphasis of this last statement, he  
stamped his foot for good measure.

Maybe it was the fact that everything that had happened had finally  
caught up with him, or maybe it was the fact his emotions HAD been  
reduced along with his body, but whatever the reason he had finally  
had enough! Without even thinking, he reared back with the coffee mug  
and THREW it at Jack's head. Luckily, the man dodged it and it hit  
the wall behind him. This time, it DID shatter into a thousand little  
pieces.

"I...AM...NOT...A...KID!" Daniel shouted, again stamping his foot for  
affect. That being said, he quickly ran out of the kitchen.

Jack heard the sound of stomping feet on the stairs, followed by a  
door slamming that literally shook the entire house. The Air Force  
colonel stood rooted to the spot, having just witnessed the daddy of  
all temper tantrums from his downsized best friend.

"The HLL you're not," he growled, and then stormed up the stairs to  
have a "chat" with one Dr. Daniel Jackson. It was one he was willing  
to bet the little linguist wasn't going to like.

Not one bit.

Chapter 8: A Different Kind Of "Chat"

Jack stormed up the stairs and headed straight for Daniel's bedroom.  
Banging on the door with his fist...okay a little overkill but he HAD  
had it!

"Daniel," he yelled through the closed door. "I'm coming  
in!"

"Go away, Jack," Daniel yelled back. "I don't want to talk to you."

Jack grinned. "That's fine," he said, turning the knob and barging  
into the room, "cuz I had a different kind of 'chat' in mind."

He walked briskly over to the bed where the downsized archeologist  
sat with his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around him. Not even  
bothering to explain what he was doing, he reached over and picked  
the little guy up. He then plopped him face down over his lap.

"Jack!" Daniel screeched, outraged. "What the HLL do you think  
you're doing!"

Jack just smirked. "I told you, Danny," he said, "we're going to have  
a 'chat'." He then raised his hand back and brought it down on the  
squirming little bottom with a loud SMACK!

Daniel yelped. "Y-You can't be serious!" he said, struggling to get  
up.

"About as serious as you were when you threw that cup at me," Jack  
said, raising his hand back again.

"I-I'm sorry about that, Jack," Daniel said, quickly. A little too  
quickly.

Jack's hand froze and he raised an eyebrow at his miniature best  
friend. "Are you really, Daniel?" he asked, knowingly. "Or are you  
trying to worm your way out of this spanking?"

"Uh..."

Jack nodded. "That's what I thought," he said, and brought his hand  
down.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Daniel squirmed even harder now. Those five swats HURT! "Jack, come  
on," he said, growing desperate. "This is ridiculous!"

"So was throwing a coffee mug at me," Jack reminded him, raising his  
hand again.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

"Ow! JACK!" Daniel yelled, his bottom was starting to feel REALLY  
uncomfortable. "PLEASE!"

"Sorry, Danny," Jack said, "but ever since yesterday you've been  
acting just like a little brat. That's gonna stop, here and now." He  
raised his hand again, bringing it down just a little bit harder to  
get his point across.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

By now, Daniel's butt felt like it was on fire and his eyes had begun  
to sting something awful. He couldn't believe he was turned across  
his best friend's knee, getting a (in his opinion) VERY hard  
spanking.

"I'll stop acting like a brat, Jack," he cried, the tears he'd felt  
starting to fall. "I promise!"

Jack nodded. "That's good, Danny," he said. "Because I WILL turn you  
across my knee again if I have to. You can count on it." He raised  
his hand back one last time.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Those last five smacks delivered, he flipped the little archeologist  
up and sat him on his knee. Pulling him close, he let the little guy  
cry for a while. He'd always done this with Charlie, and it had  
always seemed to help. When Daniel's sobs lessened, he put him back  
on his own two feet in front of him.

"I mean it, Daniel," Jack told him, firmly. "I WILL spank you again  
if you give me a reason to, and next time you'll be missing a couple  
items of clothing. Do you understand me?"

Daniel nodded, wiping the tears off his cheeks. "I really am sorry,  
Jack," he said, sniffing. "I-I was just so embarrassed about last  
night and then I couldn't even get a coffee mug without standing on  
something! I guess I kinda took it out on you."

"Ya think?" Jack asked, grinning. "Daniel, why are you embarrassed  
about last night? You've had nightmares before and I've come in to  
see about you."

"But you didn't..." Daniel said, hesitantly. "You didn't ever hold me  
or...uh...call me baby!" He was sure his face was as red as his bottom  
at that point.

Jack just grinned at that. "Is that what's bothering you?" he asked,  
shaking his head. "Danny, that's just my way of comforting you. When  
I saw you thrashing about in bed, any clear thoughts left my head and  
all I saw was a little boy in the throws of a nightmare who needed  
me. What I did last night was pure paternal instinct, pal. It was  
something I had done at least a dozen times or more with Charlie. I'm  
sorry it made you uncomfortable."

Daniel blinked. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, Jack," he  
told him, sincerely. "You've been nothing but great to me, ever since  
Sha're was taken. You've always been there, even when I knew you  
didn't like me very much..."

"Now hold it right there," Jack said, stopping him, "when have I ever  
not liked you?"

"Well," Daniel said, hesitantly, "I know on that first mission to  
Abydos you thought I was a geek..."

Jack sighed. "Danny," he said, pulling the kid in-between his  
knees, "you know how messed up I was on that mission. It was just  
after Charlie...and well, I know I didn't always treat you like you  
should have been treated, but that didn't mean I necessarily didn't  
like you. Heck, you saved my life, remember? That alone would have  
made you my pal."

"Really?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"Yep," Jack told him, smiling, "and besides that's all water under  
the bridge now, isn't it? We've both come a long way since then and I  
can honestly say you are my best friend in the whole wide world. I'd  
do anything for you, Danny...even die for you. T-That's why what  
happened with Nem was so crushing for me. Because I believed I'd  
failed to protect you and then left you behind."

"You were brain-washed, Jack," Daniel told him. "That wasn't your  
fault."

"Maybe," Jack said, "but I still felt that way. Anyway, like I said  
that's in the past, too. The here and now is where we should be  
concentrating. And right here and now I want you, Dr. Daniel  
Jackson, to go put your little nose in that there corner until I get  
breakfast ready." He pointed to the empty corner across from the bed.

Daniel looked at the corner and then back at Jack. "You're not  
serious?" he asked, hoping against hope the man wasn't.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Okay," Daniel huffed, "I guess you are serious. What should I do  
while I'm standing there?"

"Think over all the bratty things that you've done since yesterday,"  
Jack told him, "and how you might have handled them differently.  
Start with the infirmary--you know kicking that nurse wasn't exactly  
a nice thing to do--go on to the bookcase in your office, move on to  
the mall, and then to this morning. I expect a full report when I  
call you down for breakfast. Now, scoot!" He turned the little guy  
around and sent him in the direction of the corner with a VERY light  
swat to his backside.

"All right, all right," Daniel said, heading for the corner. He  
couldn't believe he had been reduced to this humiliation. The  
spanking had been bad enough, but now the corner!

Jack chuckled. "And no muttering Ancient Egyptian curses down on my  
head, either," he warned, as he left the room to go get breakfast started.

Daniel sighed. He couldn't believe his best friend had actually  
spanked him! Sure, they'd gotten into it on off-world missions and  
he'd gotten the feeling that Jack sometimes wanted to clap him upside  
the head, but that was just Jack being overprotective; his way of  
being a big brother to him.

Apparently, there was HUGE difference between "big brother" Jack  
and "uncle" Jack. "Big brother" might yell a lot, but "uncle" had a  
VERY hard hand.

Reaching back, Daniel rubbed his still throbbing posterior.

Ow!

Chapter 9: The Play Date

"We're going where?" Daniel asked Jack as he finished his  
breakfast. "And you want me to do WHAT!?"

Jack gulped down the last of his coffee, which considering Daniel had  
made it actually didn't taste like mud for a change, before he  
replied.

"It's no big deal, Danny," he told the kid, evenly. "Yesterday, Walter Davis happened to be in the locker room when I went to change. He mentioned he also had the day off today  
because he was taking his son, Walter Jr., to get registered for  
school."

"I didn't know Walter had a son," Daniel said, readjusting himself on  
his cushion. Luckily, Jack's chairs had VERY comfortable cushions as  
he bottom was still VERY sore indeed after this morning's  
little 'chat'.

"Neither did I," Jack told him. "Apparently, the kid's mom didn't  
really want him, so she gave him to Walter just after he was born.  
Walter was still an Airman at the time, and had been assigned to a  
command overseas. His parents took care of little Walt until just  
recently. Now that he's more or less on permanent assignment at the  
SGC, he's able to provide a more stable home for the boy."

"Okay," Daniel said, "but what exactly does all that have to do with  
us going to the park and you ACTUALLY wanting me to play with this  
child?"

Jack sighed. "Walter mentioned that little Walt is a very shy kid,"  
he told the downsized archeologist. "He's just turned five and hasn't  
been around that many kids before. He's really worried that the other  
kids at school won't like him or want to be his friends. I thought,  
maybe, if he actually made a new friend today at the park that it  
might boost his confidence a little."

"So...you expect me to be this new friend?" Daniel asked him. "Jack,  
I don't the first thing about playing with kids."

"It's not like it's rocket science, Danny," Jack told him. "You just  
talk to him, swing on the swings, slide on the slides, maybe play a  
game of tag. If anyone can understand this kid's fears, it should be  
you? Right?" He gave the kid a pointed look.

Daniel sighed, knowing Jack was right. He'd always had those same  
worries and fears as a child; especially about the other kids not  
liking him. If he could help this little boy boost his confidence in  
himself, then maybe going and "playing" with him wouldn't be such a  
bad thing.

"All right," he said, grudgingly, "but it's only to help Walter out."

"Of course," Jack said, grinning. "I wouldn't dream of thinking it was  
something else. But you know it wouldn't hurt you to have a little  
fun yourself."

"Don't push it, Jack," Daniel told him, scowling.

Jack laughed at that. "All right," he said, getting up, "why don't  
you take care of the dishes why I go get dressed? I'll call Walter  
and let him know our ETA."

"Okay," Daniel said, hopping off the chair.

"Daniel?" Jack said, turning back around as he was headed out of the  
kitchen.

"Yeah, Jack?" Daniel asked, looking at the man curiously.

"Get the step-ladder," he said, nodding his head toward the basement.

"Right," Daniel said, remembering his not so graceful fall this  
morning. He quickly went and retrieved the step-ladder from the  
basement.

Chuckling, Jack went upstairs to get ready for the day.

An hour and half later found the two of them at the nearby park watching as young children from the age of two to five ran around and had the time of their lives.

"You sure you don't want to get out there and join 'em?" Jack asked  
Daniel, for about the hundredth time since they'd gotten there.

Daniel tried very hard not to roll his eyes at the man. "I'm sure,  
Jack," he said. "I'm here to play with Walter Jr., remember? Not  
every other kid in the city."

"Right," Jack huffed, "my mistake." They had been getting some weird  
looks from the mothers sitting around them, obviously wondering what  
was wrong with HIS kid that he didn't want to go play with THEIR  
children.

Let's see their kids translate alien languages and open Stargates

"Here comes Walter," Daniel said, pointing to where the bespectled  
technician and his equally bespectled son were coming towards them.

"Walter," Jack greeted the man, smiling.

"Colonel," Walter replied, unsure whether he should salute or not.

Jack rolled his eyes. "We're off duty," he said, holding out his  
hand, "so just call me Jack."

Walter grinned. "All right, Jack," he said, shaking his hand. "This  
is my son, Walter." He put his arm around the little boy's shoulders.  
Little Walter was the spitting image of his dad, except he was maybe  
a little bit paler.

"Hey there," Jack greeted the kid with a big smile, "I'm Jack. I work  
with you're dad."

"Hello, Colonel," Walt said, shyly. "Daddy's told me all about you."

"All good I hope," Jack said, grinning. A throat clearing beside him  
had him remembering the main reason they were there.

"This here is Danny," he said, patting him on the head. "Danny, you  
remember Walter, don't you? You know the guy who works with your dad and me."

Daniel almost wanted to kick him, but figured he wouldn't like that  
too much. "Hi, Walter," he said, "and hi...uh..." He wondered if  
Walter Jr. went by anything.

"You can just call him Walt," Walter told him. "It helps us figure  
out who people are talking to when we're together. Walt, this is  
Danny Jackson. His dad works with me, just like Colonel Jack does.  
Jack is his god dad, and he's staying with him for a few days. Can you  
say hi?" Luckily, Jack had given him the cover story they'd made up  
when he talked to him that morning so he knew just how to introduce  
the miniature archeologist to his son.

"Hi," the shy little boy said, obviously not used to speaking with  
other kids.

Well, this is awkward

A nudge from Jack had Daniel looking up at him. A head jerk towards  
the shy little boy and a pointed look got him moving. "Oh," he said,  
sheepishly, "would you like to go play, Walt?"

Was that right? Do kids ask those kinds of questions to each other?

"Yeah," Little Walt said, "if you want to. If you don't, that's okay.  
I can stay here with my daddy." He leaned in a little closer to Walter.

"No, come on," Daniel told him. "Uncle Jack is boring, so let's go  
play on the slide." He didn't fail to notice the glare his 'uncle'  
sent his way which only caused him to grin all the more.

Walt seemed to understand the concept of grown-ups being boring, so  
he nodded and off they went to the nearest slide.

"How's it going?" Walter asked Jack, watching as his son and the  
downsized Dr. Jackson took turns sliding down the slide.

"It's going, Walter," Jack told him. "Daniel's still Daniel for the  
most part, but when he's angry or upset that's when the kid comes  
out. He and I had very pointed 'chat' this morning after he threw a  
whopper of a temper tantrum."

Walter chuckled. "Let me guess," he said, "he had to sit on a cushion  
after that chat, right? I've had to have a few of those myself with  
little Walt."

"Really?" Jack asked, surprised. "He seems like a quiet kind of kid."

"Oh, he is," Walter said, "and I love him dearly. It's just, he's  
still trying to get used to me being around all the time now. Now  
that he's living with me full time, he's not sure how much he can do  
or not do. He pushes me to see how much I'll take. It's not much,  
just little things, but after we 'chat' and I remind him of the rules  
he goes back to being his usual quiet self."

Jack looked at the smaller man then with a new respect. "You're  
really something, Walter, you know that?" he told him.

Walter blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Jack," he said,  
hesitantly, "but really all I am is just a dad."

Jack nodded. "I know exactly what you mean," he said, memories of  
Charlie coming to the surface. "I know exactly what you mean."

Meanwhile, Daniel had decided maybe it was time to find something  
else to do. They had gone down the slide now maybe twenty times  
already and he had to admit it was getting a bit old, even if a SMALL  
part of him was enjoying himself.

"You wanna do something else?" he asked little Walt.

The boy nodded. "H-How about we go play in the sand box?" he asked,  
hesitantly.

Daniel grinned. "You like playing in the sand?" he asked.

Walt nodded. "Yep," he said, proudly. "When I get big I want to be an  
arkiologist. Daddy says that's what a grownup is called when they  
like to play in the sand."

Daniel grinned even more. "Walt," he said, wrapping his arm around  
the kid's shoulders, "I think this might be the beginning of a  
beautiful friendship." With that, the two of them headed for the sand  
boxes arm in arm.

Chapter 10: The Stowaway

Daniel was frustrated. Scratch that, he was beyond frustrated. He was  
plain old ticked off. At himself.

While he and Jack had been off the last few days, everybody else at  
the SGC had been working practically none stop to try and figure out  
how to reverse what was done to him. They had sent a probe back  
through to PX-Whatever-The-Heck-The-Number-Is, and it had taken  
images of the stone slab, the crystal in its center, and the words  
written on it.

He, Dr. Daniel Jackson, had been trying for the last three hours to  
decipher the words and figure out what they said. Part of the problem  
was that the images were a little blurry; apparently it had been  
raining on the planet the day they sent the probe through. The main  
part of the problem though, was that he couldn't quite keep his mind  
on his work.

He kept drifting back to the last three days. After they're rough  
start, he and his butt both vividly remembered how THAT went, he and  
Jack had actually done all right together. Sure, Jack still tried to  
get him to relax and he still argued the point that he wasn't really  
a kid, but it was becoming harder and harder to argue that.

In a lot of ways, he felt like one. Take for example, the day he spent  
at the park with Walt. He and the little archeologist-in-training had  
spent the better part of the morning and afternoon in that sandbox  
making all sorts of "discoveries". He had enjoyed every moment of it,  
and that is what scared him. He was beginning to like being a kid a  
little TOO much.

That was why he really needed to figure out what was on that stone  
slab!

Just then, a knock sounded on his office door. Relieved that he could  
take a break for a minute, he said, "Come in." He figured it was  
probably Jack, checking up on him for about the thousandth time that  
day, but was surprised when Sam came in.

"Hey, Daniel," she greeted him, smiling widely, "how's it going?"

Daniel sighed. "If I had clearer images," he told her, plainly, "it  
would be going just fine." He shoved the stilled photograph on his  
desk away from him and leaned back in his chair with a heavy "why me"  
sigh.

Sam grinned at the sight of a five year old doing that. Then she  
reminded herself that this wasn't really a five year old, but Dr.  
Daniel Jackson. Maybe what she had to tell him would cheer him  
up. "I'll be sure to bring some clearer ones back for you," she told  
him, her tone casual.

Daniel sat up again. "Say what?" he asked. "You mean the general  
approved the mission to send a team back there?"

Sam nodded. "Teal'c and I are accompanying SG-2 through this  
afternoon," she told him.

"I don't suppose..." he started to ask, but a voice at his office  
door interrupted him.

"No, Danny," Jack said, walking into the room. "You aren't setting  
foot back on that planet until we know FOR SURE that it's safe."

Daniel glared at the man. "I could translate much better if I was  
looking at the real slab and not just images," he growled, letting  
some of his frustration show.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Carter?" he asked, looking at the blonde  
woman who was watching the ever growing battle of wills between her  
fellow scientist and their CO with amusement.

"Yes, sir?" she asked, wondering what he wanted.

"You might want to move," he advised, "Danny has a tendency to throw  
things when he's like this." He gave the five year old archeologist a  
very pointed look.

Daniel blushed at the reminder of the "tantrum" he'd thrown a few  
days before. "I'm not going to throw things, Jack," he told him, "I  
just want to go to that planet."

"And both the general and I have already vetoed that plan," Jack told  
him, calmly. "You'll just have to make do with still photos for right  
now."

Daniel glared, crossed his arms over his chest, and huffed, "Fine."

Again, that one eyebrow rose. "You know," he said, also crossing  
his arms, "there is one corner of your office that doesn't have  
anything in it. Maybe we should remedy that?" Jack grinned, knowing  
the kid would recognize a threat when he heard one.

Daniel sighed. "That's fine, Jack," he said, quickly. "I'll just  
settle for still photos."

"Good," Jack said, smirking. "Carter and I have a briefing with General  
Hammond, so that's why I came to get her. You stay put for now and  
after it's done, we'll go get something to eat."

"Actually, sir," Sam said, "I'll have to meet you there. They're  
loading the equipment I requested onto the remote sled for the  
mission this afternoon and I need to make sure it's secured properly."

"You can do that after the briefing, Captain," Jack said, using  
his 'I'm in command' voice. "The general wants us there ASAP."

Sam nodded. "All right, Sir," she said. She gave Daniel a sympathetic  
look and then headed out of the office.

"Remember," Jack told him, "stay put." With that, he turned and  
headed out of the office, too.

Knowing it was completely infantile to do so, but not really caring,  
Daniel stuck his tongue out at the man's retreating back.

"I saw that," Jack called over his shoulder, causing him to jump.

Daniel sighed. He KNEW he could translate what was on that slab  
better if he saw it again in person. There were always little things  
that still photos or videos missed on occasion and it was  
those 'little' things that usually helped solve the puzzle of what the  
words were.

Suddenly, as if it had just popped into his head, an idea formed in  
his brain. He couldn't, could he? He'd never get away with it, could  
he? Jack would be furious if he found out, wouldn't he?

I'll do it!

Hopping down from his chair, he made his way out of his office and  
went immediately to the Gate room. Just as Sam had said, the tech crew  
was preparing the remote controlled transport that would be  
accompanying the team through the Gate with the necessary equipment.  
They were only halfway done.

Over to the side, sat the remaining boxes of equipment. Looking  
around he saw that no one, not even the techs in observation tower seemed to  
notice him. That was good. Casually making his way to the boxes, he  
noticed that several of them hadn't been secured yet so it wouldn't  
be any problem to open it.

Choosing one that looked like he could fit in without being squashed  
like a sardine, he quickly opened it and looked to see what was in  
it. It was obviously one of Sam's scientific equipment, but it was  
only taking up half the space of the box. Grinning at his own  
cleverness, or stupidity depending on which of his brains (the adult  
or the child) that had come up with brilliant plan, he scooted the  
thingy over and hopped inside with it.

Quickly getting comfortable, he made sure the lid was securely in  
place so that the techs wouldn't find anything odd. If they thought  
the box was a little too heavy, he hoped they would think that the  
equipment within was just one of those small looking but weighed a  
ton type deals. He'd noticed a lot of scientific equipment that  
looked relatively small usually weighed a great deal more than its  
appearance suggested.

Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover

Just then, he heard foot steps and sat very still. He heard two  
muffled voices and then felt the box being lifted up. It was then  
being carried.

It sure is taking them a while to go just a few feet

A minute or more passed when the box was finally sat down. The only  
thing was, he hadn't heard the usual metallic sound that occupancies  
something being placed on the metal transport. In fact, it sounded  
like the box had been set down on wood. That was strange.

He then heard muffled voices again, several muffled voices. Suddenly,  
the lid of the box was lifted free. Looking up, Daniel found himself  
staring at several familiar faces. Let's see, there was General  
Hammond, Dr. Frasier, Sam, Teal'c, Lou Ferriti, and oh...one very  
furious looking Colonel Jack O'Neill.

Uh, oh!

Chapter 11: Another "Chat"

Colonel Jack O'Neill was furious. Scratch that...he was seriously  
PISSED off!

"Uh," Daniel said, "hi, everybody." He grinned innocently, though he  
was far from being innocent. At least, this time.

Teal'c gently lifted him out of the box of scientific equipment he  
had been planning to stowaway in and set him on his own two,  
currently five year old, feet.

"Young man," General Hammond said, his voice very stern in  
deed, "just what the hll did you think you were doing!? You have  
some very serious explaining to do?"

"Oh, he'll explain all right, Sir," Jack told the general, "but first  
Daniel and I need to have a little "chat". If that's all right with  
you?"

Hammond raised an eyebrow at that, looking between the downsized  
archeologist and the colonel. He had a feeling Jack was going to let  
the boy have it a lot worse than he was. "Very well, Colonel," he  
said, "just make sure he reports to my office in exactly thirty  
minutes."

"We'll be there, Sir," Jack promised, lifting Daniel into his arms.  
In then headed out of the debriefing room.

"Jack," Daniel said, squirming, "I CAN walk."

Jack ignored him, headed for the lifts, and then to Daniel's office.  
He didn't say a word the entire time. Once inside, he closed the door  
and locked it; so that they wouldn't be interrupted.

Setting Daniel on his own two feet again, he ordered sternly, "Corner. Now!" He  
pointed to the one empty corner in the room, just to the right of Daniel's desk.

Daniel gulped. He knew Jack was angry, but he didn't think he'd be  
THIS angry. "Jack, let me explain..." he started to say, but Jack  
didn't let him finish.

Turning the boy in the direction of the corner, he ordered  
again, "Now, Daniel! I'm too mad right now to talk, so you can just  
cool you're heels until I'm not!" He then sent the boy off with a  
sharp SMACK to his behind.

Daniel yelped and beat it to the corner.

Jack paced the length of the office and back again. He did this  
several times over a period of ten minutes. Finally, he felt in  
control enough to talk to Daniel about what he had done. Sitting down  
on the sofa that was in the corner opposite the one the boy was in,  
he called, "All right, Danny, come here."

Daniel made his way over to Jack, carefully. He didn't know what to  
expect from him, but he had a pretty good guess. The last time they'd  
had a "chat" he'd ended up with a very sore butt. He had a feeling  
this "chat" was going to be the same, only worse.

When Daniel was within reaching distance of him, Jack took him by the  
shoulders and pulled him in-between his legs. "Okay, Daniel," he said,  
his voice firm, "you can now explain to me how disobeying two direct  
orders was a smart thing to do?"

Daniel frowned. When it was put that way, what he had done--or rather  
TRIED to do--was pretty childish. "I NEED to see that stone slab for  
myself," he told him. "I KNOW I can translate it faster that way, but  
you and the general..."

Jack held up a hand. "Me and the General what, Danny?" he asked,  
raising an eyebrow. "What did we both tell you?" He wanted him to see  
that what he had done was wrong, not only because he tried to  
stowaway but also because it violated two direct orders given to him  
by the two people who were over him.

"You said I couldn't go," Daniel said, pouting a little bit.

"Actually," Jack said, "what we said was that you couldn't go  
UNTIL it was safe. If SG-2 had proven it was safe enough, we WERE  
going to let you go back there."

"You were?" Daniel asked, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment  
and shame.

"Yep," Jack said, "but apparently that wasn't good enough for you.  
Was it?"

Daniel's chin dropped to his chest. "I'm sorry, Jack," he muttered,  
sincerely.

Jack sighed, knowing what he needed to do next. Reaching out, he  
lifted the little linguist's chin so that he was looking him right in  
the eye. "Do you remember what I told you the last time  
we "chatted"?" he asked. "About what I'd do if I had to have  
another "chat" with again?"

Daniel's eyes widened at that, showing that he did indeed  
remember. "B-But, Jack," he sputtered, "y-y-you can't! Not here!"

Jack's eyes hardened at that. "Yes, Daniel," he said, firmly, "I can,  
and I am." He then reached down and undid the belt, button, and fly  
of Daniel's pants. Picking the downsized archeologist up, he placed  
him across his knee. In one swift movement, he pulled both the small  
pants and briefs down.

Daniel's face turned bright red, not only of having his bottom bared  
but also of being put in this humiliating position again. "Please,  
Jack," he begged his best friend.

Jack stubbornly shook his head. "What you did was wrong, Daniel," he  
told him, "and you know it. You not only were planning to disobey  
General Hammond by sneaking onto that planet, but you also disobeyed  
me when I specifically told you to stay put. I can't over look that,  
and neither will the general." He raised his hand back and brought it  
down on the exposed bottom.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Daniel yelped as all seven of those very hard swats landed on his  
bare bottom. He had thought the first spanking was rough, but this  
was ten times worse than that! "Jack, I'm sorry," he  
stuttered. "Please!"

Jack ignored that, knowing it was only a plea for the spanking to  
stop not an omission of any wrong doing. He raised his hand again.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Tears began to sting Daniel's eyes as the heat in his bottom and  
sting of the smacks increased. In the adult part of his mind, he knew  
he deserved every swat he was getting but the child part of his mind  
couldn't help but protest how unfair it all was!

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Now his bottom felt like it was on fire and the tears were rolling  
down his cheeks. "I-I really am sorry, Jack," he stuttered, unable to  
keep the sob from his voice.

Jack's eyes softened, knowing now the kid really did mean it. "I  
know, Danny," he said, "and it's almost over." He then raised his hand  
back one more time.

SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!...SMACK!

Those last swats delivered to the very red backside, he gently pulled  
up the kid's underwear and pants. He let him cry over his lap for a  
little while, rubbing comforting circles into his back. After he'd  
calmed down, he sat him on his own two feet again.

"Danny," he said, "why couldn't you trust me and the general to know  
what we were doing?"

"I-It wasn't that, Jack," Daniel said, sniffling. "I-I just  
thought..."

"That we were being overprotective?" Jack said. "Can you blame us if  
we were, Daniel? It was only three weeks ago that everybody thought  
you were dead!? It not only upset the team, Danny, but General Hammond as  
well. He's really taken a shine to you, pal."

"He has?" Daniel asked, surprised.

Jack grinned at him. "Of course," he said, ruffling the little guy's  
hair. "Even when you're BIG, Daniel, you have a very child-like  
innocence about you that draws everybody in. It certainly hooked me  
awful fast, I can tell you. It makes us want to protect you, even  
though we all know you can handle yourself pretty well...some of the  
time."

Daniel sighed. "I haven't exactly made things easy, have I?" he  
asked, knowingly.

Jack laughed at that. "Ya think?" he asked, smirking. "You ready to  
go face the general now?"

Daniel winced. He'd kinda forgot the general wanted to have a "chat"  
with him, too. He hoped it wouldn't be the same kind of "chat" that he  
just had with Jack. He didn't think his butt could stand another one  
of those.

"I guess," he said, hesitantly.

"Don't worry," Jack reassured him, standing up, "I'll be there the  
entire time." He held out his hand to the him.

Daniel took it, glad that he wasn't about to face the bald lion alone.

Well, I've already faced the great grizzly and survived, the lion  
can't be any worse. Right?

As the made their way out of the office, Daniel couldn't help but  
reach back and rub his VERY, VERY sore posterior.

Ow, again!

Chapter 12: Discoveries

Daniel couldn't believe it.

He was actually being allowed to go to PX-584 and study the circle of  
stones and (more importantly) the center slab for himself. After  
his "discussion" with General Hammond, which involved him being  
thoroughly chewed out by the bald man, he had been told that since it  
was so obviously important that he see the writing for himself, he  
was allowed to go.

Of course, there were conditions. He wasn't allowed to leave Jack's  
side for any reason at all, and at the first sign of trouble he was to  
obey the colonel instantly without hesitation or argument. Disregard  
for these conditions would result (he had no doubt) in a sore behind  
and being grounded for a VERY long time from Gate-travel.

So, that's why he intended to follow those conditions to the letter.  
He had no intention of being banned from traveling through the Gate.  
A sore behind he could live with, but absolutely NOT that.

"Ready?" Jack asked him, as they stood waiting for the general to  
give the go ahead.

"You bet," Daniel told him, grinning.

"Good," Jack said, grinning. He then reached down and adjusted the  
small pack that had been made for the downsized archeologist. He also  
made certain the small BDUs that had also been specifically tailored  
to the little guy fit him right.

"Jack," Daniel whined, slightly. "Quit fussing."

"All right, all right," Jack said, holding up his hands in a non-  
offensive gesture. "Jeeze, you try to help a friend out..."

Just then General Hammond spoke through the loudspeaker from the  
observation room. "SG-1," he said, "you have a go. You're to be back  
here by exactly eighteen hundred sharp."

Jack saluted. "Don't worry, General," he said, "we will be. All of  
us." He looked down at his miniature best friend, giving him a  
significant look. Daniel, of course, pointedly ignored him.

The Gate swooshed to life and they stepped through. The planet on the  
other side was just as Daniel remembered it. A lot of trees...but not  
much else.

"Come on," Jack ordered, "the sooner Daniel can take a gander at his  
rocks, the sooner we can figure this out and vamoose." He started in  
the direction of the trail.

Daniel rolled his eyes and followed immediately behind him. "They're  
not MY rocks, Jack," he told the man.

"Yes, Daniel," Jack said, grinning. "Hopefully, you're rocks are  
where their supposed to be."

"They're an ancient symbol of..." Daniel started to explain when Jack's  
comment hit home. "Hey!"

Jack burst out laughing, as did Sam. Teal'c merely stared at them,  
wondering what was so amusing.

Daniel glared at his "uncle". "You're evil, Jack," he muttered,  
pouting a bit.

Jack just chuckled more and ruffled his hair. "I know," he said,  
smirking. "Come on, let's go." He started down the trail that would  
lead them to the circle of ancient stones.

Once there, all four of them hesitantly made their way to the center  
slab. A few feet from it, they stopped and waited. Nothing happened,  
so they moved closer. "All right, Daniel," Jack said, "go on, BUT DO  
NOT TOUCH IT." This was delivered with a very serious and stern  
expression.

Daniel nodded. He had no intention of touching anything. He was merely  
going to attempt to translate what was written on either side of the  
flat slab of stone. Moving forward, he stood on a small stone so that  
he could see the top of the slab clearly. Scanning over the ancient  
text, he bit his lower lip.

"It appears to be a form of ancient Celt," he called back to the  
others. "This could prove my theory that the culture who built this  
ring of stones also built Stonehenge."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, "that's all well and good, Daniel, but what  
does it say?"

Daniel glared over his shoulder. The man had absolutely no  
appreciation for historical significance. "It says," he said, and  
began to translate, "Come ye all who wish and place thy hand upon the  
crystal stone. One wish it shall grant to thee and to thee alone."

"Any one else not have a clue what THAT means?" Jack asked, looking  
at Sam and Teal'c.

Daniel, however, was frowning in concentration. He seemed to recall  
something about wishes...

"That's it!" he exclaimed, excitedly. "I've figured it out!"

The others stared at him in surprise. "Well, Daniel," Jack said, "you  
mind sharing with the rest of us..."

"It's the proverbial Wish Stone!" he told them, only getting blank  
stares.

"The what?" Jack asked, puzzled.

Daniel sighed. "Every culture in the world at one time or another has  
a legend or story about a stone that can grant wishes," he said. "I  
believe that this is exactly what the chrysamite stone in the center  
is. A Wish Stone!"

"Are you saying that this stone is magic, Daniel?" Sam asked,  
skeptically. As a scientist, she didn't exactly believe in magic. Of  
course, she wasn't supposed to believe in aliens either, so...

"Well," Daniel said, "no, of course not. It's obviously some form of  
alien technology, but it works in the same way as the Wish Stone."

"What does this have to do with you being made littler?" Jack asked.

"Littler isn't a word, Jack," Daniel corrected him automatically. "And it obviously  
works through the physical...meaning that what most people tend to  
wish to change is something physical about themselves. This  
technology obviously can alter or rearrange DNA to grant the person  
what they want. In my case, when I touched the stone I was thinking  
about when I was five years old and I had found a chrysamite stone on  
one of my parent's digs."

"So," Sam said, catching on, "the stone believed that was your wish.  
To be five years old again!"

"Exactly!" Daniel said, smiling. "So, all I have to do to change  
back is touch it again and think about my adult self!" He turned to  
do just that.

"Hold it, Daniel," Jack said, stopping him. "Let's go back and report  
all this to General Hammond. If he gives us the okay, then we'll come  
back tomorrow."

"But..." Daniel started to argue, but was cut off.

"Danny," Jack told him, "you've been downsized for the last week; one  
more night isn't going to kill you."

Daniel sighed. "All right," he said. "Let's go." So, they did.

That night, after they had returned home, reported, and been given  
permission by the general to return the next day, Daniel got ready  
for bed but he couldn't help but think back over the last week. When he  
had first been...uh...shrunk, he had been horrified but as the week  
wore on he had actually found himself liking being a kid again.

"Hey there," Jack said, coming into his room to check on him, "you  
all set for bed. After all, you've got a BIG day tomorrow."

Daniel grinned up at him. "Yeah," he said, quietly.

Jack looked at him. "You okay?" he asked, setting down on the bed.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I'm...well, a small part of me is  
going to miss this."

Jack nodded. "I know," he said, "I'm gonna miss it, too."

He meant that. As much as he missed the adult Daniel Jackson, someone he could  
grab a beer with after work, tease about how all the woman at the SGC  
wanted to jump him, and someone he could generally pick on like a kid  
brother, he WAS going to miss this little boy with his large blue  
eyes, his keen wit, and his sheer stubbornness.

"At least things will be back to normal," Daniel said. "I won't have  
to wear kid's clothes anymore or..."

Jack grinned. "Or get spanked," he finished for him. "I don't  
know...if you pull a crazy stunt on a mission I MIGHT forget you're an adult  
again..."

Daniel laughed at that. "I guess I'll just have to try not to pull  
any crazy stunts, huh?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah," Jack said, standing up. "Goodnight, pal." Then, because it  
was probably going to be the last time he would get the chance to do  
it, he leaned down and placed a paternal kiss upon the little guy's  
forehead. He then walked over and turned out the lights.

After he closed the door, he headed up to his little observation  
deck. Up here, he didn't have to worry about being the no-nonsense,  
tough-as-nails Air Force colonel. He didn't have to worry about evil  
body snatching aliens or wondering if on the next mission all of his  
team would make it home.

Up here, he could be just Jack.

Up here, he could cry all he wanted to; mourning the loss of yet  
another little boy in his life.

So, that is exactly what he did.

Chapter 13: Decisions, Decisions

SG-1 once more crossed through the Stargate to the planet  
designated PX-584, for one final mission: To return Dr. Daniel Jackson  
to his true age and height.

After making their way to the circle of stones, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c  
all stayed back while Daniel made his way to the center stone. This  
was the moment he'd been waiting a week for; had gone to a HLL of a  
lot of trouble to get to.

So, why was he so uncertain?

Before heading through the Gate, General Hammond had issued one final  
order. "Dr. Jackson," he'd said from his place in the observation  
tower. I expect you to be eye to eye with me when you return. Make  
sure that happens." He had nodded his head firmly, because after all  
that was what he wanted.

Wasn't it?

Stopping short of the center slab, he once more read the message  
carved there. One wish, it said. Did that mean he couldn't make  
another? Or was that simply a way to keep the greedy from coming  
back? There was really only one way to find out.

Reaching a hand out to put it on the embedded stone, he found himself  
hesitating. What was wrong with him?

His mind began to replay this last week. What he had told Jack the  
night before was definitely true. He WOULD miss being a kid. His  
childhood the first time around had been horrific after his parents'

death, this COULD be his second chance. Couldn't it?

But the SGC needs me

That was most certainly true. With the Gou'ld out there, Stargate  
Command needed his expertise in languages and cultures. As SG-1's  
linguist, it was his job to make first contact with the peoples they  
encountered. It was his job to ensure they find allies against the  
alien threat, and it was his job to find and rescue his wife and her  
younger brother.

In short, he NEEDED to be an adult.

So, why did he still hesitate?

He remembered the look on Jack's face last night, the sad look that  
meant yet another child was leaving his life. His best friend had  
done so much for him, and if he remained a child he could bring a  
little bit of what Jack had lost when Charlie had died to him.  
Couldn't he?

I'm so torn!

Become an adult or remain a child?

Those were his only two options, weren't they?

No, they weren't.

Smiling as the idea of what he needed to do, what he needed to wish  
for, filled his brain he reached out and touched the embedded crystal  
in the center of the slab. Closing his eyes, he VERY carefully stated  
his wish. He felt the crystal beneath his hand grow warmer and then a  
blazing bright light flared from it, no doubt blinding his three  
teammates that were waiting for him.

He didn't exactly FEEL anything happening to him, but he was  
confident that it WAS. After several moments, the brightness died  
down and the crystal beneath his hand cooled.

Very slowly he opened his eyes, looked down at his hand, and smiled.  
It was once more the size of an adult. He then looked at the smaller  
hand resting beside and looked down. A pair of bright blue eyes stared  
up at him.

"Hello, Danny," he said to the small, blonde five year old version of  
himself.

Danny smiled up at him. "Hi, Daddy," he said, hesitantly.

Daniel grinned brightly. His wish had come true. Reaching up, he  
pulled his glasses from his pocket and put them once more where they  
belonged. Luckily, Danny wouldn't need them for a few more years yet.  
Holding his hand out to the little boy dressed in his little BDUs, he  
said, "Come on; let's go say hi to Uncle Jack."

Taking his hand, the adult and child versions of Dr. Daniel Jackson  
walked hand and hand to his (quite) bewildered team-mates. Jack,  
especially, had a flummoxed look on his face. "Uh, Daniel," he said,  
looking from the adult Daniel to the child Daniel, "what's going on?"

Daniel and Danny grinned at each other. "Go ahead," Daniel told the  
little boy, "you tell 'em."

Danny let go of his hand and went to jump up in Jack's arms. "Isn't  
this neat, Uncle Jack?" he said. "Now you can have both the big Me,  
which is Daddy, and a little Me. You can go to work with Daddy and  
come home to play with little me." He seemed quite thrilled by the  
idea, and he obviously wanted his "Uncle Jack" to be thrilled about  
it, too.

"O-kay," Jack said, a smile slowly forming on his face. "Works for  
me."

He hugged the little guy tightly, and then put an arm around the  
bigger version, too. It seemed he now had his kid brother AND his  
godson.

"I'll explain everything when we get back to the SGC," Daniel told  
them.

"I hope so," Jack said, smirking. "I can't wait to see the look on  
Hammond's face!"

Daniel winced at that. "You're evil, Jack," he said, glaring.

Jack chuckled. "I know," he said, "but you wouldn't have me any other  
way. Let's go." They started back to the Stargate.

"Uncle Jack?" Danny asked when they were almost there.

"Yeah, pal?" Jack asked, wondering what the little boy wanted.

"Can I PLEASE dial us home?!" The little guy asked, making his big  
blue eyes even bigger.

Jack smiled. "How you planning' on reaching the DHD?" he asked,  
curious.

Danny thought about that a moment. "Daddy could lift me up," he  
suggested, looking over Jack's shoulder at the adult version of  
himself.

"Well, Daniel?" Jack asked, also looking behind him.

Daniel grinned. "Works for me," he said.

"Sweet," Jack said, setting Danny down. The little guy and his adult  
counterpart went immediately to the DHD, where Daniel lifted his  
little self up to reach the symbols upon it.

"All right, Danny," Jack told him when he saw that they were  
ready, "dial us home."

And that is exactly what he did.

The End...for now.


End file.
